Late to Mets Workout, Matt Harvey Apologizes, Citing ‘No Excuse’

Mets pitcher Matt Harvey said he apologized to Manager Terry Collins and General Manager Sandy Alderson for his tardiness.CreditCreditKathy Kmonicek/Associated Press

By Seth Berkman and Tim Rohan

Oct. 6, 2015

Shortly after noon on Tuesday, the Mets began walking out of the home dugout at Citi Field to prepare for a workout ahead of their National League division series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, which begins Friday.

They laughed and formed lines to begin stretching; soon Manager Terry Collins walked through with his hands behind his back, observing the scene.

Easily visible was the long, wavy hair of the Game 1 starter, Jacob deGrom, as was all 6 feet 6 inches of the Game 2 starter, Noah Syndergaard. In fact, all of the players expected to be on the 25-man playoff roster were there, except for one big name — pitcher Matt Harvey, who is scheduled to pitch Game 3 of the series Monday in New York.

Why Harvey was absent is not exactly clear, although various explanations seemed to come and go during the day, including the possibility that he got stuck in traffic on the way to Citi Field, or lost track of time on Tuesday morning, or perhaps overslept after going out the night before to watch “Monday Night Football” at a Manhattan restaurant.

For sure, the dog did not eat his homework. Also for sure, according to Collins, is that Harvey will be fined for his transgression — and that he will pitch Game 3, assuming he shows up on time.

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Mets players warming up during Tuesday’s practice at Citi Field. The team planned to work out on Wednesday before boarding a flight for Los Angeles.CreditKathy Kmonicek/Associated Press

Harvey’s absence was first addressed by the Mets when the Tuesday workout was nearly completed, with General Manager Sandy Alderson saying he did not know why Harvey was not on the field and did not want to say more until he had a better understanding of the situation.

Not long afterward, Harvey appeared, having finally shown up at Citi Field. He briefly addressed reporters and apologized for his tardiness without explaining what caused it.

“Obviously, today was not the greatest,” said Harvey, who has a home in the East Village in Manhattan. “I know we had a mandatory workout, and the last thing I ever want to do is not be here with my team. Basically, there’s no excuse — I screwed up. I wasn’t here. I showed up a little late.”

Harvey added that he had apologized to Collins and Alderson and that something like this had never happened before and would not happen again. During the one minute that Harvey spoke, he used the phrase “screwed up” three times. He did not take questions after he spoke.

As the day progressed, it was then left for Collins to further address the curious failure of a key player to attend the first postseason workout of his career.

In a telephone interview with The New York Times — Collins also spoke with other news media outlets — the manager talked bluntly about Harvey’s mistake and indicated that he was not sure what the actual reason was for his pitcher’s failure to show up and that he really did not care.

“All I know is it’s over, it’s done,” Collins said. “We’re not in eighth grade anymore. He’s not going to miss the first five innings as a punishment. We’re not going to spank him. We’re going to fine him.”

Collins added, “The players are going to deal with it their way.”

Collins went on: “He’s apologized to his teammates. He’s talked to Sandy and I. We’re dealing with it in house and moving on and getting ready for the playoffs. We don’t need any more negative stuff going on right now.

“We’re moving forward,” he added emphatically.

In that respect, the next stop on the Mets’ schedule is another workout at Citi Field, this one at 10 a.m. Wednesday before the team boards a flight to Los Angeles to prepare for Game 1 against the Dodgers on Friday night. Presumably, Harvey will be on time for that one.

On Monday night, Harvey had gathered with friends at American Cut, a steakhouse in TriBeCa to watch the Seattle Seahawks play the Detroit Lions. A bartender at the restaurant said Tuesday night that Harvey’s group behaved politely and left when the game ended a little before midnight. That gave Harvey more than 12 hours to get some sleep and get to Citi Field, but he did not make it.

Harvey has had a strong comeback season from Tommy John surgery — a 13-8 record with a 2.71 E.R.A. — but it has been a bumpy ride for him lately. In early September, a controversy arose after Harvey’s agent, Scott Boras, publicly challenged the Mets’ handling of Harvey, a 26-year-old right-hander, and whether they were going to encourage him to pitch more innings than he should in his first season back on the mound.

Harvey then made matters worse for himself by initially indicating to reporters that he was not sure he wanted to pitch in the postseason because of the concern over how many innings he has thrown. Those remarks were widely interpreted as Harvey putting himself before his team, and he quickly clarified that he did want to pitch in the postseason. Which he will, at least in the division series.

In addition to apologizing publicly on Tuesday, Harvey will have to make amends with his teammates for being absent. The Mets’ captain, David Wright, in a session with reporters on Tuesday before Harvey spoke, avoided any direct criticism of his teammate, saying: “I’m concerned about the guys that are here. The guys that are here, we had a great workout. You’ll have to talk to Matt about that. We’re rolling. We’re clicking. Guys came in today, took care of business, did what they needed to do to prepare for Friday, and I’m happy with that.”

INSIDE PITCH

Matt Harvey was not the only Met to make news Tuesday. Steven Matz, the rookie left-hander who the Mets hope can pitch a possible Game 4 against Los Angeles, was the first player on the field for the workout and stretched and tossed a ball before throwing a bullpen session. Matz, who has been dealing with a sore back, will now fly to Florida, where the Mets hope he can throw 90 to 95 pitches in a simulated game on Thursday before a decision is made on his postseason role. ... There was less encouraging news about Juan Uribe, the backup infielder who sustained a chest injury. Sandy Alderson said Uribe would probably not be available for the Dodgers series.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page B14 of the New York edition with the headline: Late to Workout, Harvey Apologizes, Citing ‘No Excuse’. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe